Independence Day in Sylvarant
by Sn0wAng3l101
Summary: I buy sparklers for the group, have a talk with Kratos, and have a splash fight with Lloyd. Some spoilers. Oneshot for my ToS fanfic. Darn it, it was midnight when I posted this. I was so close to posting it on the actual day too. *sad face*


"Hey guys! Look at what I got!" I said as I ran to the others.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"Sparklers!" I said happily as I held up a red white and blue box.

"SWEET!" Kevin said loudly.

"…What are sparklers?" Lloyd asked.

"Sparkler…" Presea spoke. "A handheld firework that throws off sparks as it burns."

"Oh! Those things!" Lloyd exclaimed excitedly. "I love those!"

"Lloyd, what were sparklers originally created for?" Raine cut in.

"Um…" Lloyd muttered.

Genis sighed heavily. "They were originally created in order to celebrate the first defeat of the Desians."

"…Yeah, that," Lloyd said.

Raine just shook her head and I laughed.

"Someone just got told," I teased.

"Sh…shut up!" Lloyd stuttered.

I passed out sparklers to everyone and whipped out my handy-dandy lighter. Once all of our sparklers were lit, I smiled as I spun around in a circle with mine.

"Lauren, please be careful!" Raine scolded.

"Don't worry!" I assured her. "I'll be fine!"

I kept spinning until I got dizzy and just settled for watching the sparks fly everywhere, giggling like a little kid. Unfortunately, the sparkles soon disappeared.

"Aw…it died!" I said, frowning.

Kevin pointed and laughed at me with his sparkler. "Mine didn't!"

I pointed and laughed at him with my dead sparkler when his died as he had finished talking.

"You two are so immature…" Genis muttered.

"Oh shut up!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"Now, now, don't get mad, cutie," Zelos said, putting his free arm around my shoulders. "It's bad for your complexion."

"Zelos, knock it off!" Sheena ordered the red-haired Chosen.

"Aw, don't be such a party pooper, Sheena!" Zelos whined.

As I looked up at Zelos, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked into the darkness, but didn't see anything. At first I thought I was imagining things, but my curiosity decided to get the better of me and decided to go and investigate.

"Um…I'll be right back," I said, slipping out from under Zelos' arm.

"Where are you running off to?" Zelos asked curiously.

"I'm just gonna head back into Luin and grab some more stuff," I lied. "I'll be right back."

"Want me to come with you?" Zelos asked.

"Nah, I'll manage," I said. "Thanks, though."

I turned back towards Luin and began jogging. Once I got close to the small town, I let out a loud screech when my feet didn't reach ground like I thought they would and I fell forwards. A loud splash rang through the night air when I fell into the stream that surrounded Luin. I surfaced quickly and took a deep breath to fill my lungs again, but I coughed in the process.

I was surprised when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and pull me back onto land.

"Are you all right?" a soothing voice asked.

I looked up with surprise and my favorite angelic swordsman, Kratos, in the dim moonlight.

"Um…yeah, I'm fine," I said, blushing slightly. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked. I took off my big, floppy hat and attempted squeezing the water out of it as I spoke.

"I was merely visiting the city," Kratos stated.

"Sure you were," I said sarcastically. "But seriously, you know that I won't tell anyone why you're here…or that you WERE here, for that matter."

Kratos stayed silent for a moment. "…I wished to see Lloyd."

"What for, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked.

Kratos already knew that I knew about his history because of where I came from, but I wondered if he was going to share the details with me or not.

"…When Lloyd was two, Anna and I brought him here to celebrate Independence Day," Kratos began.

Earlier today, Raine and Genis explained to me (as well as Kevin) that a group of Desians had been beaten during the era of the first Chosen of Mana in Sylvarant, which led to the day known as Independence Day. I found it highly ironic that Sylvarant had an Independence Day just like Earth, and on the same day too.

"Like today, we also used sparklers," Kratos continued. "However…Lloyd had an accident."

"What happened?" I asked with worry.

Kratos looked at the ground. "…He tried to eat a lit sparkler."

My suppressed laugh came out like a snort and my hand flew up to cover my nose and mouth with embarrassment.

"I guess that explains the scar he has on his tongue," I said with a smile.

"You saw it?" Kratos asked with surprise, looking back up at me.

"Yeah," I said, almost bursting into laughter. "His tongue kinda droops out when he sleeps."

Kratos sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "I can't believe he still does that…"

I laughed softly. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"In all honestly, I believe that that is a genetic trait," Kratos said. "…Anna used to do that when she was a baby as well."

I laughed a little. _Poor Anna…_

"…Why am I talking to you about this?" Kratos asked.

"That's a good question," I stated.

"Hey, Lauren!" Lloyd called from the darkness. "Can you hear me?"

_Oh crap, it's Lloyd!_

"I'll be right there!" I called back, temporarily turning around. By the time I turned back around, Kratos was already on his feet and walking away.

"Um…bye, Kratos…" I said, knowing he could still hear me.

Kratos stopped walking, looked at me over his shoulder, and then turned back around and continued walking away. I frowned as I got to my feet.

"Ew… Now my shoes are gonna be all soggy and gross…" I whined, feeling the water swishing in my boots. I turned around when Lloyd finally reached me.

"Are you all right?" Lloyd asked with worry. "We heard you scream and thought you got attacked…"

"I'm fine," I assured him. "I just fell into the river."

Lloyd laughed. "You would."

"Shut up!" I said, blushing. "You would've too!"

"Yeah, but who was the one that actually did it?" Lloyd taunted.

"You!" I shouted. I pushed Lloyd as hard as I could, and he tumbled backwards into the river. I began laughing hysterically when he resurfaced and started cursing at me. "Serves you right, Lloyd!"

"Just shut up and help me out!" Lloyd said.

"Fine…"

I stepped closer to the bank and reached out my hand. Lloyd grabbed it like I had expected, but instead of me helping him out he helped me back into the stream. I glared at Lloyd (who was laughing even harder than I was a minute ago) when I came back to the surface.

"You jackass!" I exclaimed, splashing water at him.

"Hey!" Lloyd said, splashing water back at me.

I splashed back at him, and as I did, I saw Kratos standing on the land watching us fight. For a split second, I could've sworn that I saw Kratos smile. Just in case he did, I smiled back at him just before Lloyd splashed me in the face. _Kratos really is a good father…_ I thought as our splash fight continued.

The fight soon ended and we returned back to the others, completely soaked.

"What happened with you two?" Kevin asked.

"We had a splash fight," Lloyd said with a smile.

"Why?" Genis asked.

"Because it was fun," Lloyd and I said in unison.

We looked at each other and I realized something. When Lloyd's hair was wet it wasn't spiky at all; it was droopy. _He really does look like Kratos,_ I thought, suddenly realizing how handsome Lloyd was.


End file.
